The way of the peaceful warrior begins by embracing all three selves- having your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground...
My most recent read, The Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman absolutely changed my life. The book tells the tale of a man on his own spiritual conquest and the trials and tribulations of his journey. Being we're all on our own journeys, this is very relatable. Below are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:)
Daily life is the training arena of the peaceful warrior. Spirit gives you everything you need, here and now. You evolve not by seeking to go elsewhere, but by paying attention to, and embracing, what’s right in front of you. Only then can you take the next step on whatever floor you are working.
As the ego dissolves into the arms of God; the mind dissolves into the will of God. No longer trying to control your life or make it work out in a particular way, you stop living, and start being lived. You merge with a larger purpose, the “bigger picture.” You become the Way,…by getting out of the way.
Yes, this world needs more compassion. But we all have different callings. Does this make villains of the rich or saints of the poor? I think not. Complex karmas are at work. Each of us plays our role. Each of us is born into life circumstances to challenge us and allow us to evolve. A beggar in this life may have been wealthy in another life. Inequality has always existed, and until the awareness of humanity rises to at least the third floor, it will continue.
The first step to change, is accepting where you are right now. Completely accept your process. Negative judgments about yourself only hold the pattern in place, because the Basic Self can get very stubborn and defensive. Accepting yourself gives the subconscious child in you the space it needs to grow. When it happens is completely in God’s hands.
Fear can paralyze you just when you need to act. That is dangerous. It contracts the body’s energies, and that contraction attracts the very thing most feared. The absence of fear is not bravado; it’s courage. Courage opens the space to act. You will still know caution when it’s called for.
Fear is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. It pervades that daily lives of most people, moment to moment. You won’t miss it, I assure you. When you’ve conquered your fears by acting courageous in spite of them, life blossoms; you look out at a different world through the windows of the second floor
Pray as if everything depended on God, and work as if everything depended on man. –Francis Cardinal Spellman
The organs weep the tears the eyes refuse to shed
He could only teach you what you had ears to hear, or eyes to see
